


Happily Ever After

by liveyourstory



Series: True Love's Kiss [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, Fix-It, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-02
Updated: 2015-12-02
Packaged: 2018-05-04 12:48:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5334671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liveyourstory/pseuds/liveyourstory
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which maybe, just maybe, Howard's idea wasn't so ridiculous after all</p>
            </blockquote>





	Happily Ever After

**Author's Note:**

> Ha...haha...I am the slowest writer in the world. I've been sitting on this for over a year now but finally got the motivation to edit and finish it, hoorah! There is a second chapter to come, which I'm hoping to get up before xmas, but I probably shouldn't make any promises

Peggy kept herself busy for the rest of the weekend, refusing to think about Steve or her own foolish behaviour. What had she been thinking, letting Howard's words get to her like that? She was a grown woman, for Christ's sake; she'd been to war and was long past the age of allowing flights of fancy to rule her decisions. She should have known better than to get caught up in one of Howard's ridiculous ideas.

(The main reason she couldn't let herself think about it, was because for a few moments she had let herself believe it might actually work. That after all they'd been through and all they'd overcome, at last they might catch a break. It had been a schoolgirl's dream, and deep, deep down she had known that, but even so the disappointment when nothing happened had been almost too much to bear. And so she'd spent her Sunday doing the small amount of work she was able to bring home from the office, cleaning her apartment, and preparing enough food to last her the week, anything to keep her mind off of a certain blonde supersoldier.)

Monday rolled around eventually, and although she usually baulked at the idea of being stuck behind a desk, Peggy found herself surprisingly grateful for the backed up reports she had to work her way through. It kept her busy for most of the day, shut away in her office where the only disruption was the occasional knock at the door from her colleagues either bringing her important messages or offering tea.

It seemed to her that she'd barely returned from her lunch break when the sounds of people packing up their desks and getting ready to go home for the night drifted under her door, and she was surprised to note that Howard hadn't made an appearance like she'd thought he would. Granted, it was rare for him to spend much time in the building even when he was in New York, but she'd thought he would come in for the official debriefing of his latest trip. Or at the very least, she'd half expected him to come by just to ask if she liked the gift he'd left in the hospital room, and to drop unsubtle, not to mention inappropriate, comments about herself and Steve. His definition of what classed as a socially acceptable topic of discussion, after all, often differed from her own.

But he hadn't so much as left a message with the secretary; Peggy checked on her way out. She presumed that meant he'd got distracted in his lab, working on whatever new item the government was pestering him for. She thought no more of it, knowing he would turn up at some point, and chose to be thankful that she'd had a reprieve from having to lie about her visit to Steve Saturday evening, for she felt certain Howard wouldn’t be able to resist asking about it and she didn’t much fancy admitting she had actually followed his suggestion. She felt foolish enough as it was, without having to contend with Howard’s pity. And besides, it wasn’t like she would have told him even if it _had_ somehow worked.

The walk home was pleasant, the warmth of the afternoon sun prompting her to take the long route back to her apartment so that she could walk through the park. She sat for a while on a bench, watching two squirrels chase each other around the thick trunk of a tree, their movements silkily streamlined like a lost ribbon dancing in an autumn breeze. It was nice to take some time to relax after a busy and productive day before continuing on home, and it was nearly sundown before she finally turned onto her street.

There was a large black car she didn’t recognise parked outside her apartment building. It wasn’t the kind of car one usually saw in the neighbourhood and Peggy was immediately on the alert. Her step didn't falter, but she casually slipped her hand into her handbag to take hold of the small pistol she carried; she thought it unlikely that someone would have been sent to attack her in a public place without the cover of darkness, and in such a flashy, memorable vehicle, but it didn’t hurt to be prepared.

As she drew closer, one of the car doors opened and she felt her heart start to race, her grip on the gun tightening as she eyed the building to her right, wondering where best she could take cover.

She had just decided to duck down behind the neighbouring building's steps when none other than Howard Stark stepped out of the car, glaring at her with impatience.

'Where have you been? I've been waiting for you for nearly an hour!'

Relief followed by surprise flooded through Peggy. While it wasn’t unusual for Howard to drop by unannounced to her home, he did typically try not to draw attention to the fact and had Jarvis drop him off rather than leave his car in the street for the neighbours to gawp at. She could only guess what they were all thinking, and a brief upwards glance told her that more than one housewife was peeking through their curtains.

‘What took you so long?’ Howard demanded as Peggy approached the car.

'Hello to you too.' Peggy replied coolly, wondering at Howard's tone but not in the least feeling like she had to explain herself to him.

'Yes, yes, hello, good evening, how are you, lovely weather...whatever. Get in the car.' Howard stepped aside and gestured for her to climb into the seat he had just vacated. His speech was almost manic and he looked like he hadn't slept in over a day, but he was staring at her like she was the peculiar one, wasting time by not obeying him straight away.

Peggy could feel her good mood ebbing and tiredness setting in with a suddenness that was in itself exhausting. It was something that happened often when you had to deal with Howard Stark on a near-daily basis. 'I'm not going out with you tonight, Howard.' She told him firmly. 'I have food in the house and I just want a quiet evening.'

'No, trust me, you need to come with me.' Howard said, stepping away from the car and putting a hand on her elbow like he was considering physically pushing her into the backseat. Peggy pulled her arm out of his grip, with perhaps more force than intended, but she wasn't in the mood for dealing with his dramatics.

'I said no, Howard. Go home and get some sleep, you look terrible.' She turned away, stepping around him so she could make her way to the stairs that led into her building. She'd only made it to the bottom step and was just fishing her keys out of her pocket when he spoke her name with a desperation that made her pause.

'What is it?' She asked, looking over her shoulder at him. He hadn't made any attempt to follow her and was still standing next to the open car door, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. Even from here she could see the tense line of his shoulders and the way his chest heaved as though he'd just run ten blocks to find her.

A sudden chill spread through her and she clutched her keys hard, not noticing how the cold steel bit into her palm. 'Howard? What— has something happened? Is it Steve?' Fear rolled over her in waves. Had there been a change to Steve's condition? After months of nothing, had his body finally given up, unable to cling to the threads of life anymore? Howard had been absent all day and looked like he hadn't slept; had he been at the SSR building, fighting alongside the doctors to keep Steve alive? Peggy felt queasy, sure that Howard was about to tell her that they'd lost Steve for good this time.

She saw him nod in answer to her question, and reached out to steady herself against the low wall, barely hearing his next words.

'Yeah. He's awake.'

&&&

'I don't understand.' Peggy said faintly as Jarvis transported them back across town as if Hydra itself was on his tail. She wasn't one to get motion sick, usually, but she felt a little green about the gills as he took a corner at such a speed that she was convinced they must have done it on two wheels.

She had managed not to pass out when Howard dropped his bombshell, but it had been a near miss, and Howard had taken advantage of her shock to bundle her into the car and snap at Jarvis to get moving. They'd already gone several blocks before Peggy registered what was going on and she watched out of the window as the scenery rushed past before having to look away. She turned to Howard, who was flushed with excitement and smiling widely. Their hands were joined on the seat between them, and Peggy realised that he was squeezing her fingers just as tightly as she was his.

'He woke up, Peg. The doctors called me yesterday afternoon because there'd been a couple of fluctuations noted in his readings, so we kept him under surveillance all night and...it happened. It’s actually happened. He woke up!'

Peggy had considered, a few times, how she might react to this news if it ever came. She'd liked to think she would hide her delight behind a professional mask (unlike Howard), and had privately hoped she wouldn't burst into tears and thoroughly embarrass herself. It had never occurred to her that she might have no reaction at all. She knew she ought to be giddy with excitement, and yet she felt strangely empty. Her faith had not been misplaced; Steve had apparently come through once again. So why was she finding the words so hard to believe?

'He woke up.' She repeated, testing the words, letting them roll off her tongue to see how they felt. They didn't seem any more real in her voice than they had in Howard's. Perhaps if she knew more, had more concrete details to wrap her mind around, it would feel less like a dream. 'Is he...?’ She paused, unsure what she wanted to ask, and instead settled for, ‘How is he?'

Howard shrugged, but didn't appear to let the uncertainty bring him down. 'He seemed okay, just a bit woozy. The doctors have taken samples of everything possible to do every test under the sun, so I guess we'll find out soon enough what kind of effect the...well, everything, has had on him.'

'Was he able to speak?'

Howard cast a knowing look in her direction. 'A little, but mostly he was just answering questions from the doctors. It tired him out pretty quick.'

'I see.' Peggy said, nodding slowly. That would make sense. It always took a while for patients to build up their energy again after being bed-ridden for a long time.

Howard cleared his throat, then said, with an amused smile, 'He said your name, you know.'

'He asked after me?'

'No, just before he actually woke up. He mumbled your name, and then a few minutes later opened his eyes.'

'O-oh.' A blush rose to Peggy's cheeks and she looked away. She couldn't deny that the idea of Steve thinking about her even in his sleep didn't send a thrill through her, but for Howard and a group of doctors she barely knew to have been witness to something so personal was more than a little embarrassing.

Thankfully, Howard didn't dwell on it. 'Of course, the question everyone's asking is, why now? After months of no reaction to external stimuli, and just when people are starting to think there's never going to be any change, he suddenly wakes up? Very strange.'

'Quite.' Peggy said, feeling Howard's gaze boring into her but refusing to look at him again. 'But maybe there's no need to question it. Maybe we should just be thankful it happened.' She knew what was coming, and fought not to roll her eyes.

'Maybe.’ Howard waited a beat, then continued in a deliberately casual tone, ‘So how did your visit go on Saturday?'

'If there'd been something to report, I would have.' Peggy replied. 'He showed no signs of regaining consciousness while I was there.' Had he? No, definitely not. She would have noticed. She'd held his hand and watched his face carefully, after all.

'So you didn't try anything new?' Howard persisted, but Peggy was saved from answering as Jarvis suddenly slammed on the brakes.

‘Terribly sorry!’ Jarvis muttered with a quick glance over his shoulder. Howard waved the apology away.

Glancing out of the window, Peggy realised with a start that they had pulled up outside the little café that hid the entrance to the building now used as a private hospital for Steve. This was it. Time to see for herself that Steve was awake.

Jarvis was half out of his seat, no doubt on his way to open the door for her (regardless of the fact that she’d told him numerous times that she was perfectly capable of doing it herself), but before he had even made it onto the sidewalk she was out of the car and striding towards the café’s entrance.

Without waiting for Howard, she made her way inside.


End file.
